When the ozone hole heals by the end of the century or thereabouts, the authors warn, Antarctica will suffer the full brunt of global warming, with temperatures rising as much as 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

In 2007 the IPCC predicted sea level rise of between 8 and 23 inches by century's end. Two years later, based on what's melting now, predictions once considered too extreme to be realistic are now looking likely.

(How much worse will things look two years from now?)

It's interesting that this story has been all over the front pages of British newspaper websites and nowhere to be found on American. Instead, US news outlets are choosing to report as their big science story of the day a dubious study on the supposed contagiousness of loneliness. (New Scientist reminds us of a few other things supposedly contagious through social networks: acne, headaches, your height.)